Honduras in one day

We drove through Honduras in one day. We took the Pacific coastal route. We were surrounded by green rolling hills and small villages. There didn't seam to be a middle class in this area. The pore are extremely pore and the rich are considered wealthy. We didn't have time to explore this country but we would have loved to check out the Carribean coast. We have met many other travelers who raved about it.

The police are very corrupt in Honduras. We were stopped five times during our day trip. The first bribe in Honduras took place directly past the border crossing when the officier insisted that there was a toll for that particular road. We couldn't argue through so we paid the small bribe and left without a delay.

Dorian and I got a little tougher throughout the drive. We put on our game face when we got pulled over. Dorian would play the cop's buddy while I basically yelled at both of them in English and Spanish. We had extremely good luck with this routine. The officer usually would back off thinking "Crazy Gringa." They don't usually want to work that hard for their money.

When we made it to the Honduras/Nicaragua border crossing there wasn't a guide to hire, so Dorian and I were on our own. We noticed that the Nicaraguans, "Nicas", speak differently than in the other countries. It was nearly impossible to communicate with the people working at the immigration office. A nice lady physically had to direct us to the correct office. It was confusing since the office was in the garage of the building.

We registered the truck, got our Visa's stamped and had the dog inspected. The people in line were trying to help us although none of them spoke any English. We were beginning to realize how nice the locals are in Nicaragua.

El Salvador/Honduras Border

Crossing into Honduras from El Salvador was difficult. This is the craziest and most confusing border that we have ever crossed. We camped at the border town in El Salvador the night before. A guide actually approached us as we woke up in the morning. We could not understand him. The hotel owner came out and started yelling at Dorian. We could not understand the guide or the owner. We heard the owner say "no vaya" over and over which means don't go. Dorian didn't like the tone in the old man's voice and told me to pack it up as quickly as possible. We broke down camp in record time and bailed.

The guide followed us and eventually showed us his badge. We realized that the hotel owner was telling us to not pay the guide. We wish we had understood him before. When the rest of the guides rush the truck. We made sure to hire a guy who spoke English. All of the guys working seamed shady including the guy we hired.

The process of crossing the border is insane. It would be nearly impossible to cross without a guide. Even with good Spanish skills. We were dragged in the heat across the town for more than three hours. The offices are unmarked and dirty. The guide zig zagged through the crowd to get us our necessary papers. The whole process is incredibly unorganized. We were unsure if our guide was legit but he did manage to get us across eventually. Other travels notified us that they went through the same tedious process. It didn't seam like we got ripped off or bribed. It was just very confusing and very unorganized.

El Zonte, El Salvador

Entering El Salvador wasn't that difficult. Other travelers informed us about the pushy and sneaky guides that want to help you cross the border. We made sure to be very firm when the guides rushed the car. Dorian and I demanded that we only wanted one guy who spoke English throughout the entire ordeal. We generously tipped our guide ten dollars at the end. I didn't even need to leave the truck.

We drove a few hours to El Zonte. Dorian knew of a surf camp there. The coast in El Salvador is beautiful. We drove along lush green headlands. Many locals sell watermelon along the twisty mountain highway. We searched for the dirt road and headed towards the beach. El Zonte consists of shaggy seafood restaurants and an amazing surf camp. The camp is so nice we enjoyed the clean bathrooms, refreshing pool, and the manicured garden. We also loved camping with the parrots and guard dogs. This is a great place to stay. They offer cabanas also.

The surf was good. Dorian was excited to get back into the water. The water is dark from the black rocky sand beaches and the locals were very unfriendly at first. They are still effected by the war. We got to know them one night over some beers.

We met Edwardo here. He is a french guy who manages the camp for an El Salvadorian family. Unfortunately the wages are very low here. He only earns five dollars a day and he works very hard. My Amiga in the picture visited me daily. I bought some interesting art from her. She was really pore and I didn't mind helping her out. I took her picture for a dollar. Isn't she beautiful.

We stayed in El Zonte for a couple weeks. Dorian was excited to surf every day again. The jungle was awesome although I did not see any monkeys in El Salvador. The dry season turns everything brown here like in Nicaragua and Northern Costa Rica.

We enjoyed visiting El Salvador although we only stayed in one other spot. The south west dirty border town.

The Coast of Guatemala

Dorian really wanted to check out the coast in Guatemala. We heard many rumers of the coast being swampy and pore. We had to find out for ourselves. Dorian had previously read about some surf breaks in Guatemala and he was desperate for waves. It had been over two months since he surfed.

The drive was great although it was raining. The road to the coast is luckily brand new pavement. When we arrived we realized that the rumors were true. The coast is swampy and it is the porest part of Guatemala. We were happy to camp under a covered parking lot instead of staying in the dirty hotel. That night the rain turned into a heavy storm that flooded the beach town's little streets.

In the morning Dorian wanted to check the surf. We were distracted by the long swampy river that blocked our view to the beach. The locals told Dorian to paddle across. He took one look of the chocolate brown river filled with trash and said "Lets get out of here." The beach seamed to be the local dump and Dorian did not feel like getting sick.

We also visited another beach in Guatemala closer to Honduras. The ocean was also brown and the beach was mainly used for fishing. The locals were going crazy. Signaling us to park. I did not feel very safe there so we turned around and headed for the Guatemalan/El Salvador border town.

We love Guatemala but we do not advise our friends to visit the coast.

Our Guatemalan Family

Even though we had our brakes fixed in Chichicastenango we still needed some repair on the truck. We stopped at the nearest city. A local mechanic showed up at the service station and directed us to his house. We couldn't understand him at all. We followed him to his yard and the entire family came out to greet us.

He told us it would take a few days for him to fix the truck. He had to take the bus to Guatemala City and get the correct parts. We were to camp in his yard. I immediately started socializing with the family. It was difficult to communicate with my little Spanish skills but we managed. Mama had seven children from a different husband who is not in the picture. In order to support her children and mother she married the mechanic and had one child. She has sacrificed alot for her family.

I taught the kids how to make bracelets and played with them all day everyday. Mama made us breakfast, lunch and dinner. She would feed us before her husband. Then her husband and their child would eat. The other children had to prepare their own food in a separate kitchen. The mechanic didn't seam to want them around.

Dorian became friends with the two sons. They practiced their Spanish and English together. He also learned how to fix the truck with the mechanic. He had an amazing experience with our new Guatemalan family too.

Dorian and I would lay at night in amazement of this family. We were so thankful of their acceptance. I tried to help out like everyone else. Mama was shocked when I started doing all the dishes after dinner. Eventually she just started treating me like another daughter. She asked us several times to move in for one year.

I fell in love with Grandma. She is ninety and so sweet. I would sit as close to her as possible on the ground while she sat in her chair on the back porch. She thought it was amazing that I didn't need a hair tie to put up my hair and how blond my hair was. She would put her hand on my leg and smile by the end of the night we were basically cuddling on the porch. We loved hanging out together.

I became really close with this family in just a few days. We taught each other so much. Mama gave me a ring to remember her by. A storm hit us as we were packing to leave but we didn't want to stay another night. We were warned not to walk around the town and the mechanic didn't even want the locals to know we were at his house. This is not an appropriate place for a gringo to live but we enjoyed every minute of this experience. Meeting this family was the most significant part of our journey.

Chichicastenango, Guatemala

I have always wanted to go to Chichicastango in Guatemala. This is where they hold the world known market. The colors and culture are absolutely amazing. The artisans are all so talented and creative. Thursdays and Sundays are market days and all off the Mayan Indians come from distant villages to buy and sell there crafts. We loved it so much that we decided to shop there both days that week. Dorian and I were planning to sell some of the art in Costa Rica but half of it has been sold along the way.

We haggled our way through the crowd when the chicken buses showed up with tourists. Dorian and I figured out that when the seller give you a price cut it in half and haggle with them. We would usually find a price in the middle that they would agree on. Another tactic is to buy in bulk.

As we were walking back towards the hotel I witnessed a young girl helping her grandmother walk. I looked down and the old woman's foot was twisted backwards. She was walking on her ankle bone like a cane as her foot dangled behind her. I wanted to help her so bad.

Even the children are working hard at the market. A young boy about six years old was following us trying to sell us a trinket. I started messing with him and pushing him around. At first he thought I was strange and then he started to mess with us back. We ended up pushing each other back and forth all the way to the hotel. Dorian bought him a coke at the store. His eyes lit up and he ran away.

We were able to get our brakes fixed here for a small fortune. We were very lucky to find a mechanic. It took several days but we enjoyed the market so much. I think everyone should take a trip to Chichicastenango, Guatemala.